


The Raven King

by orphan_account



Category: Tenet (2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Inspired by Princess Mononoke, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:40:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26873836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The Curse of the Raven King was a popular fable outside of the realm of the Forest. The fable’s moral message simply went like this: hate begets hate, but love begets love. The Ancients gifted the Raven King with the gift of foresight along with a human soulmate, so that they may rule the lands around the Forest with benevolence, wisdom, kindness and justice.Ignorance is a blessing and the tale of the Raven King tells us why that is.
Relationships: Neil/The Protagonist (Tenet)
Kudos: 10





	The Raven King

There is a forest in the north that is shrouded in a permanent mist. This mist is so dense and heavy that not even the radiant daylight of the afternoon sun nor the majestic cast of the moon’s reflected light can penetrate through the opaqueness of the mist. For eons and generations, the Forest has never tasted the touch of a human presence because of the sinister rumors surrounding it. It has been said that any human being that even dares to set foot beyond the border marking mankind’s land, has never returned to their tribes and villages. Beyond that, tales have been passed down from descendant to descendant about the uncanny howls that echo from the Forest on a full moon, along with the bloodcurdling screeches echoed by winged creatures who cast heavy shadows against the luminescence of the trees. 

One day, a headstrong hunter was perched on a rock outcropping closest to the Forest. This young hunter was named Rotas and unlike his tribemates, he was fearless and bold. The young hunter was stationed on the cliff, observing the luminescent lights of the forest that were faintly seen past the dense mist. As he peeked his head over the cliff, a violent and powerful gust of wind rushed up from beneath the cliff face. The gust tore through the young hunter’s torso, cleaving it in half, his entrails dangling. A bloodcurdling screech reverberated from the skies and not a human soul in sight was able to witness the ruthless predation of a harmless human being.

When the tribe of Rotas heard of his death, every human in the village called to arms and marched to the Forest, waving torches and spears. They tried to burn down the forest with the Red Flower, but once again, a bloodcurdling screech sounded from the heavens and blood tainted the forest soil. When a nearby tribe heard of what transpired, they visited the village of the young hunter’s tribe, only to find a crimson-tainted mound of human bones and skulls.

From this day onward, mankind remembered the Forest’s savagery. Tale after tale is shared and remembered, passed down and written on stone, of the presence and stories of this gargantuan creature. These tales have spread from tribe to tribe, village to village, and city to city. It is the tale of a vengeful winged creature, with a body as large as the mountain, eyes as dark and soulless as death, and wings as black as the abyss. 

Some human tribes worship this creature of legend, some tribes that were descendants of the survivors despise it, and many have considered it as nothing more than a fairy tale. But a few handful still remember the truth of the legend before it was twisted beyond belief. And even a fewer handful were even bold and fearless enough to launch an expedition towards the Forest.

But all of them know of one thing.

The Raven King is the monarch of the Forest.

And the few brave and foolish humans that believe in the Raven King’s existence are confident of this, because previous explorers have brought back with them bundles of avian feathers, drenched in the color of the abyss. The feathers are a deep midnight hue that they reflect the rays of any light source.

And so it is that the fearless spirit of Rotas the Hunter lives on in the lives and imaginations of these bold humans, generations later. They come in their giant frigates and ships made of ancient tree wood. They came from lands far away from the Forest and they have now come to infect the land to propagate their parasitism. For decades, the Raven King’s presence has not been observed or felt by the few explorers sent out by the colonial cities to the west of the Forest. 

When the first tree of the Forest was axed and cut down, a violent gust was summoned out of the ether and a bloodcurdling screech echoed throughout the surrounding area. Human blood spilled on forest soil for the first time in several millennia. The roots of the ancient trees drank their fill and they all whispered to each other in delight. Thorny brambles and venomous tendrils snaked along the borders of the Forest.

One day, the royal bloods of each of the clans living in the Forest, gathered in the clearing of Moon’s Light, one of the only few areas deep within the forest not touched by the mist. One by one, they walked towards the ancient bristlecone pine tree that towered over all other trees. One by one, the lords of the clans waded through the clear pure waters. As they all stood before the throne of the Raven King, they slowly bowed their heads, reverent and humble.

The earth shook as the Raven King landed with a mighty echo. Beady eyes as black as the cosmic abyss stared back at the gathering of clan lords. The Boar, Nago, was the first to raise his head and look at the Raven King.

“Karasu,” Nago’s voice echoed as a rough growling sound that rattled the fragile branches of the younger trees. “The blight of Rotas has returned. They have multiplied in number since and they come from distant lands that are divided by the sea. We have thrived for millennia within the Forest, but now it is time for us to expand the Forest’s territory and claim more lands as our own.”

The Doe, Ruth, raises her head and looks at Nago with exasperation. “We have been safe within the Forest for generations, Nago. It has provided for our needs quite effectively. None of our clan members have suffered from drought or hunger, and it has been so long for some of us that we have even forgotten what it felt to live through the Dark Centuries.”

Nago snorted, huffing as he brandished his battle-hardened tusks for all to see. “The Blight of Rotas know of our King’s existence, Ruth. Why else would they come back here after all these generations? The lands around the Forest are rich in game and they are like parasites, always seeking new ground to consume and drain dry. These lands have been ours since the beginning. We should’ve gone out and staked our claim while we could have. Now, the Blight of Rotas will get their hands on our home and they will drive us out before we know it.”

Ruth glared at Nago. “Don’t be ridiculous, Nago. You just want to sate your appetite for bloodshed.”

“My children and their children’s children have guarded the borders of our home for many millennia, Ruth,” Nago growled. “Where were you when my clan tore through the Blight packs that dared to think they can tear down our Forest with their spears?”

_Children. They are all children to me._

The Raven King blinked. He slowly unfurled his wings and pounded the air with them, summoning a violent gust that tore through the Moon’s Light clearing. The violence of the gust was so strong that it nearly sent most of the clan lords to the ground. From his perch, the Raven King observed the shivers of reverent fear that rippled through their ranks.

_Nago is still a child. I was the first among them._

“Nago,” the Monarch says with a deep sinister timbre, underpinned with a ghastly echo. “The Forest feeds on a blood sacrifice every decade. Why else do you think I was able to keep us all alive? The Forest is home to the spirits of the wronged, the unavenged, the forgotten, the despaired. We protect them, and in return, they protect us.”

Nago quickly bowed his head. “Forgive me, my King. I did not mean to imply that your protection was lacking.”

The Wolf, Lobo, slowly raised his muzzle and spoke. “Karasu, the spirits have been becoming more restless lately. I suspect it’s due to the arrival of more humans near the coast to the West.”

The Snake, Ahas, slithered around the rock perch near the Monarch’s perch. “I have used the eyes of my kin to travel across the land, and I can confirm that more of Rotas and his kind have arrived to stake their claim on our lands.”

The Monkey, Wukong, lashed his tail in anger. “Some of them have already captured my kin and kept them in wooden cages,” Wukong sneered, baring his sharp curved teeth. “The Blights think we’re exotic species, Karasu. They think we are commodities. They do not think we are living, breathing, creatures. We are commodities and objects to them.”

The Dragon, Ryuujin, bares his maw releases a small puff of fire. “One of them has already stolen an egg from my children’s children.”

The Tiger, Tora, bares her fangs and growls. “One of my children perished trying to defend her cubs from hunters, in the woods near the coast where the Blights have claimed their home.”

The Panther, Bast, closed her eyes and sat down, swishing her long tail to rest over her paws. “We have only observed a small number of them. I have spent a great deal of time observing the colonial cities by the coast, and most of them are not aware of our existence, beyond the foolhardy few that have remembered the legends about you, Karasu. I do not believe that they will be threat soon.”

The Hyena, Yoruba, howled her frustration. “Some of my children have already run them off. The Blight of Rotas is invasive.”

“We should expand our territory!” Wukong screeched.

The Raven King blinked. **“Silence.”**

The clan lords silenced themselves and the clearing plunged into arctic stillness.

**“I will meditate with the Spirits.”**

* * *

_“All of you were cursed and turned into animals for a reason, Karasu. And now you are convening with us to ask for guidance, when you have perfectly denied every chance you could have asked for it?”_

_**“I am the only one that remembers being a human once. The others, do not. Since you are not willing to turn us back to our original forms and restore our memories, I have elected to bind you to the Forest unless you agree to the terms I have set thousands of years ago.”** _

_“You brought this curse on yourself and your tribe, Karasu. You brought this curse on yourself and the ones you loved. You were the bridge between Man and the Wild. But you cursed yourselves the day you spilled the innocent blood of Rotas. And now, this hatred has bred and multiplied like a disease into the denizens of the Forest.”_

_**“You cursed me with foresight. I foresaw what he could have become. I foresaw him killing my human mate. So I had to act.”** _

_“A vision is a vision. It is not a guarantee it will pass. And yet, you treated that premonition as if it was fate.”_

_“And your mate died as a consequence of killing Rotas, killed by the villagers that came to rightfully avenge the death of one of their own.”_

_**“And they have paid dearly for that. Don’t you realize by now? Most of the spirits that have slumbered in the Forest since your imprisonment are slowly merging and becoming malleable to my will. They protect all of us, because in their dreams, I make sure they are vicariously living through their fantasies of revenge and vengeance. The revenge that they cannot have in life, I give them.”** _

_“You are an abomination, Karasu. May you be cursed to stay in this form forever.”_

**_“This curse will eventually abate. My soulmate will eventually be reincarnated again. What is a few more thousand years? Million years? I have the patience to endure them all. But I cannot say the same for you.”_ **

_“The curse will kill your mate as soon as they touch you. May you taste the fruit of your deeds.”_

_**“And may you taste the bitter fruit that flowers when I consume you for myself at the end of this.”** _

* * *

One day, a lone explorer hailing from one of the colonial towns by the coast wanders into the thunderous rush of the river that flowed out from the Forest in the east. A pale-skinned human whose crown was flecked with thin strands of blond hair, bathed in the shallow banks of the river. It was a long and difficult trek through the jungle, and the human barely escaped for its life when it was attacked by a group of long-haired apes. The human sat down shakily on a dead log.

High up on his perch, secluded by the shade of thick leaves, the Raven King studies the pale-skinned human bathing by the river. 

_This human looks similar to him._

The Raven King observed the thunderous rush of the river. He cocked his head, listening for the small sounds of aquatic life beneath the noise of the river. With a violent burst, he sprung from the thick branch he was perched on and dove headfirst for the deeper depths of the river. His talons pierced the body of a wild salmon and with a mighty beat of his wings, the Raven King speared through the surface of the water. Cold air whipped past his elongated beak and ruffled his black feathers as he soared to the skies. The Raven King cawed a mighty bellow throughout the skies, talons still clutching the twitching body of the wild salmon. 

He landed violently on the opposite side of the river, swiveling his large head to stare at the wide-eyed human on the other side of the riverbank. 

You are mine. And now you know that I exist.

“The Raven King,” he heard the pale-skinned human muttering breathlessly, still wide-eyed. “It’s true. The stories are true.”

The human, the perfect mimicry of his own human mate, starts shivering and slowly retreats away. The Raven King cocks his head, curious and mildly frustrated at this strange reaction.

I will not let anyone kill you again. I will protect you in this life.

 **“Are you afraid of me, little human?”** the Raven cocks his head and asks in a ghastly voice.

The pale-skinned human shivers even more, eyes going wider. “It speaks?” the human gasped.

**“Leave the Forest. Or the Curse of Rotas will follow you and claim your life.”**

He unfurls his wings and soars to the skies.

* * *

One day, despite the warnings, his human still dared to come back into his realm and chase after the trail of bodies that perpetuated his myth in their human society. When they suspected his human for having ties to witchcraft and necromancy, the Raven King shears through the ranks of human villagers that tried to have his human burned on the stake. The Raven King consumes their carcasses and regurgitates it at the Pit, the bottomless pit of ichorous fluid and twitching biomass at the core of the Forest that feeds the Spirits dwelling within the trees. 

With the unconscious figure of the human held gingerly in one of his talons, the Raven King flies to his nest atop the highest branches of Methuselah, the ancient bristlecone tree in the middle of Moon’s Light. He gently lays down the unconscious human on a patch of moss. 

_The Ancients lied. My human mate did not perish when I touched him. I will consume them once I am done with them._

He cocked his head, observing with the human with distinct interest. 

_You used to love sleeping here, on this nest. You loved the skies and you loved being near the stars at night. I remembered a time when all of this forest was once ours. We were young and wild and free. We used to make love here, remember?_

At once, the monarch remembered the words of the Ancients.

_**“You shall eat the fruit of the curse, Karasu, unless you change your ways.”** _

There was no need to change. They stripped him of his humanity, after all. Why should he treat them with dignity? He can just use the Spirits slumbering in the Forest to prolong their lives.

* * *

The Curse of the Raven King was a popular fable outside of the realm of the Forest. The fable’s moral message simply went like this: hate begets hate, but love begets love. The Ancients gifted the Raven King with the gift of foresight along with a human soulmate, so that they may rule the lands around the Forest with benevolence, wisdom, kindness and justice.

In another life, the Raven King did not kill Rotas, the young human hunter, and as a result, the human race would have established the first civilization of Shifters and Humans, as the Ancients intended. In an alternate future, the Raven King and his human mate would have laid the foundations of the first cultural golden age of peace in a land plagued by wars over limited food and resources. 

But it was not meant to be.


End file.
